[draft]City on a Hill

[USS Monitor]

Pardon the number of drafts I have going at once, but the forum is moving so slooooooowwww, and I still wanted to work on something, so I wrote a new draft.

I am not in love with the last effect line, but I couldn't think of anything better.

City on a Hill

[desc]In ancient times, the Sacred Citadel of the Mountain God Kamirita was a destination for pilgrims from across @@REGION@@. Today, it is internationally revered as one of @@NAME@@'s most important archaeological sites, but some clerics say that its religious origins are an affront to @@FAITH@@.

valid for very religious theocratic nations

[option]"What a load of hogwash," says trowel-wielding archaeologist @@RANDOMNAME@@. "Yes, the ancients worshiped gods that we now know don't exist. They also thought leeches would cure cholera. That just shows they were less advanced than we are now, but these ruins are still a cultural treasure and an irreplaceable piece of @@DEMONYMADJ@@ history. You should support our efforts to preserve the site and continue excavating other archaeological sites."
[effect]recent archaeological digs have unearthed thousands of flower bulbs and a stash of exquisitely preserved acorns

[option]"Tear down the temple of the false god!" roars fundamentalist preacher @@RANDOMNAME@@, waving @@HIS@@ arms wildly with a holy book in @@HIS@@ hand. "Smash the idols! What use are these earthly relics? They are nothing but a distraction, diverting people's minds from the path to salvation! The only cultural treasure @@NAME@@ needs is our undying faith in @@FAITH@@."
[effect]@@DEMONYMPLURAL@@ leave no stone unturned -- or unsmashed -- in their search for salvation

[option]"Whoa, slow down, we're missing an opportunity here," says tour operator @@RANDOMNAME@@. "We don't want @@DEMONYMPLURAL@@ being led astray by heathen influences, but this is a great tourist attraction. Leave the ruins standing, but only allow foreigners to visit them and charge a hefty fee for admission. Thinks of all the money it will bring into the country, and all the ways we can use the money for good. We could even include a lecture about @@FAITH@@ at the end of the tour and try to convert some of the visitors."
[effect]people never get around to visiting the tourist attractions in their own backyard

[Jutsa]

Nice.

Might it also be an issue for nations that are ruthlessly atheist.

[USS Monitor]

Nice.

Might it also be an issue for nations that are ruthlessly atheist.

They might have some similar issues, but the way this is written is more applicable to theocracies, and I'm not sure it's worth the trouble to make it ambiguous enough to expand the validity.

[Hediacrana]

Nice! One thing I'm not sure about is the phrase 'God's work' in the last option. It seems to me it should be fairly simple to phrase it in such a way that no assumptions about @@religion@@ being monotheistic or polytheistic or non-theistic are made: to do good, to do sacred work, to further @@religion@@...

PS, out of curiosity: does the name of the mountain god reference anything specific?

[Sacara]

Interesting, Monitor.

The only thing I would suggest is adding an urgency to the description. Why now, of all times, did the clerics start complaining about this? Maybe it's pilgrimage time of the year again.

[USS Monitor]

Nice! One thing I'm not sure about is the phrase 'God's work' in the last option. It seems to me it should be fairly simple to phrase it in such a way that no assumptions about @@religion@@ being monotheistic or polytheistic or non-theistic are made: to do good, to do sacred work, to further @@religion@@...

This is a reasonable point, but I also want to make sure it sounds natural. I will think it over.

PS, out of curiosity: does the name of the mountain god reference anything specific?

Kami Rita Sherpa.

The only thing I would suggest is adding an urgency to the description. Why now, of all times, did the clerics start complaining about this? Maybe it's pilgrimage time of the year again.

I don't necessarily want to imply that people still worship Kamirita, especially not that the religion still exists within @@NAME@@.

[Sacara]

I don't necessarily want to imply that people still worship Kamirita, especially not that the religion still exists within @@NAME@@.

That's a fair point.

However, I still think there should be something that adds urgency, because no it seems like they just woke up one day and were just like "You know, that place over there is bothering me".

[Hediacrana]

I don't necessarily want to imply that people still worship Kamirita, especially not that the religion still exists within @@NAME@@.

That's a fair point.

However, I still think there should be something that adds urgency, because no it seems like they just woke up one day and were just like "You know, that place over there is bothering me".

Maybe the land was recently bought by a wealthy and zealous follower of @@religion@@, with the plan to destroy it?

[Australian rePublic]

Whilst it's content and theme is very different to 143, the outcomes are quite similar. Try to change if

[Bears Armed]

I don't necessarily want to imply that people still worship Kamirita, especially not that the religion still exists within @@NAME@@.

You could have worshippers from somewhere outside @@NAME@@ turning up as pilgrims, maybe after their faith has undergone a recent resurgence wherever they come from, instead... Well, if the nation's borders are open enough, anyway.

[Trotterdam]

The real-life religions that this is inspired by really have been dead for thousands of years. Changing that would reduce the issue's real-life applicability. (Real-life applicability to terrorists, that is...)

[Bears Armed]

The real-life religions that this is inspired by really have been dead for thousands of years. Changing that would reduce the issue's real-life applicability. (Real-life applicability to terrorists, that is...)

The 'Bamyan Buddhas' in Afghanistan, demolished by the Taliban: Still plenty of Buddhists left, elsewhere in the world...

[USS Monitor]

Whilst it's content and theme is very different to 143, the outcomes are quite similar. Try to change if

There are a few elements in common, but I don't think the overlap is devastating. The religious option in #143 is reviving the old religion. The religious option here is the one about destroying the site.

The commercialist option in #143 destroys the temple. The commercialist option here is one of the ones that preserves it.

This issue does not have an option to worship Kamirita.

The only option that does the same thing in both issues is the one about preserving the place as a historic site.

The real-life religions that this is inspired by really have been dead for thousands of years. Changing that would reduce the issue's real-life applicability. (Real-life applicability to terrorists, that is...)

The 'Bamyan Buddhas' in Afghanistan, demolished by the Taliban: Still plenty of Buddhists left, elsewhere in the world...

It would be possible to do the issue either way: a dead religion or a modern one. However, in my headcanon, the ruins are thousands of years old, not just hundreds, and it is a dead religion. I don't think anybody worships Kami Rita Sherpa as a god. OTOH, I just had a thought about a different theme I could use for the ancient religion... Hmmm...

Edit: Nah, going to stick with Kamirita. The ancient Nazcar people sounded funny in my head, but when I tried to actually rewrite the issue, I couldn't make all the references I wanted fit while still being concise.

[USS Monitor]

Nice! One thing I'm not sure about is the phrase 'God's work' in the last option. It seems to me it should be fairly simple to phrase it in such a way that no assumptions about @@religion@@ being monotheistic or polytheistic or non-theistic are made: to do good, to do sacred work, to further @@religion@@...

This is a reasonable point, but I also want to make sure it sounds natural. I will think it over.

"To do God's work" has been changed to "for good."

[Verdant Haven]

That's a fair point.

However, I still think there should be something that adds urgency, because no it seems like they just woke up one day and were just like "You know, that place over there is bothering me".

Maybe the land was recently bought by a wealthy and zealous follower of @@religion@@, with the plan to destroy it?

I think that could be a reasonable solution. Certainly, private owners have destroyed priceless archaeological sites of ancient religions in the past, even for reasons as simple as "it's in the way of my farming." I can't find the reference at the moment, but I believe one of the major historic trusts or government agencies in Britain was founded largely in response to a specific viking monument being destroyed by a farmer.

[USS Monitor]

Maybe the land was recently bought by a wealthy and zealous follower of @@religion@@, with the plan to destroy it?

I think that could be a reasonable solution. Certainly, private owners have destroyed priceless archaeological sites of ancient religions in the past, even for reasons as simple as "it's in the way of my farming." I can't find the reference at the moment, but I believe one of the major historic trusts or government agencies in Britain was founded largely in response to a specific viking monument being destroyed by a farmer.

I'm not sure if that really gets at the issue that I want to get at, though. I want to focus on the government's religious policies, not private property rights.

[Candlewhisper Archive]

Good concept! ISIS thing, right?

[USS Monitor]

Good concept! ISIS thing, right?

Yes, this is the ISIS thing I was asking about in the Writer's Block.